38 Wrestlers Who Died In 2025

38. Black Bart (9 January)

On 9 January, following a lengthy battle with stage four colon cancer, Black Bart passed away at the age of 76. He had first been diagnosed in 2022, managing to live for another two years, but - and this is a chilling testimony to the state of the American healthcare system - he was forced to cease any further treatment after the expiration of his medical insurance.

Born Richard Harris in January 1948, he wrestled under an array of monikers throughout a career that spanned nearly four decades, but it was as Black Bart that the Arkansan became more commonly known. This was the name he had used during his brief spells with both the WWF and WCW at the onset of the nineties, a period in which he also locked horns with many would-be WWE Champions, including Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Steve Austin.

Fleeing WCW as the company attempted to present him as a Stan Hansen-obsessed cowboy, Black Bart wrestled for various lesser North American independents before calling it a day in 1999. He subsequently moved into a coaching role, with his most prominent student being John 'Bradshaw' Layfield.